Airman 1st Class Jesse Samek — February 2013 Shipment Honoree

Arkansas airman dies in Afghanistan helicopter crash

ROGERS, Ark. — An airman from Rogers who worked on a rescue helicopter died in Afghanistan when his aircraft went down, the Air Force said Friday.

Airman 1st Class Jesse Monroe Samek, 21, died Thursday, a day after his helicopter crashed during a medical evacuation, Capt. Maureen Schumann said.

A statement issued by Samek’s family in Rogers said he’d moved to northwest Arkansas in 1997 from O’Fallon, Mo., near St. Louis. He graduated from Rogers High School in 2001 and attended the University of Arkansas for a year before deciding to join the Air Force.

“He was a great outdoorsman,” the family statement said. “He loved camping, hiking, hunting, fishing and snow- and waterskiing. He played recreational hockey as a goalie.”

Military officials said technical problems brought down the HH-60 helicopter, which was carrying a wounded Afghan election worker. The crash occurred in the Herat province, 105 miles east of Shindand.

Two other airmen were injured in the crash, one critically, military officials said.

Samek’s family said the airman worked for months in a training program, and became a member of an elite group that qualified for the rescue duty as a flight engineer on a HH-60 Para Rescue helicopter.

“He loved that his job was to do rescues and saving people in this war-torn world,” the family statement said.

A presidential election worker had been accidentally shot by a guard earlier in the day, and Samek’s helicopter was transporting the man for medical treatment.

Samek was assigned to the 66th Rescue Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., just outside Las Vegas. He joined the Air Force in February 2003.

He is survived by parents Gavin and Julie Samek of Rogers, Ark.; brother Benjamin Samek of Rogers, Ark.; and grandparents David and Jenny Burkemper of St. Louis, Mo.

Onlookers who winced instinctively stood their ground as the second and third rounds echoed over the hills surrounding the Bella Vista Memorial Cemetery.

A few moments later, the high-pitched strains of “Taps” lingered in the air, only to be blown away by the whirring blades of an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter that flew over Samek’s casket.

Samek, 21, a member of the 66th Rescue Squadron, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev ., was killed Oct. 20 when the helicopter carrying him on a rescue mission crashed in Afghanistan. Samek and his family moved to Arkansas in 1997 from O’Fallon, Mo.

A friend, David Dezarov, returned to Arkansas aboard the aircraft that carried Samek’s body.

“The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was spend the last four days with him and not saying a word,” Dezarov said.

Dezarov, a scout with the 1st Armored Division based in Germany, recalled a gesture by the pilot of the plane carrying Samek’s body on a flight from Atlanta to Tulsa. He circled Rogers for 10 minutes as a tribute to the young man who had graduated from high school there in 2001, Dezarov said.

“He was a great outdoorsman,” the family statement said. “He loved camping, hiking, hunting, fishing and snow- and waterskiing. He played recreational hockey as a goalie.”

Blake Johnston, another friend, also recalled times with Samek. He recounted a trip with his buddy to Cancun, Mexico, canoe trips down the Elk River a few miles north in McDonald County, Mo. — and the bond that allowed the two friends to communicate without saying a word.

“His life was full of happiness and laughter,” Johnston said. “I never would have believed I’d be standing up here doing this.”

Instead, he said, he had imagined a future of good times with Samek.

“There would have been beer bellies — big ones,” Johnston said. “I’d like to think we’ll be together again someday, with our beer bellies.”

Corrine Hagedorn, a cousin of the fallen airman, read to the mourners a message from Samek’s mother, Julie.

“(There were) moments in the last few days that I felt I had to force myself to keep on breathing,” she wrote.

Air Force Airman 1st Class Jesse M. Samek

She thanked those who offered their words of sympathy, but acknowledged there was no word or deed that could soften the blow.

“Our hearts will never be whole again,” she wrote.

He is survived by parents Gavin and Julie Samek of Rogers, Ark.; brother Benjamin Samek of Rogers, Ark.; and grandparents David and Jenny Burkemper of St. Louis, Mo.

Post navigation

Search

Search for:

Categories

Categories

DONATE

Donate now to provide comfort and relief items for our military members who become sick, injured, or wounded from service to our country. There are four easy ways to donate monetarily. LHCP is an approved Combined Federal Campaign (CFC.) LHCP's CFC designation code is 12282. Charities approved to receive funds through the CFC are required to submit to extensive review of their financial and governance practices prior to acceptance. This eligibility review has helped set standards for participation in giving initiatives that transcend the community.
There are four easy ways to donate monetarily.

Combined Federal Campaign

LHCP is an approved Combined Federal Campaign Charity (CFC.) LHCP's CFC designation code is 12282. Charities approved to receive funds through the CFC are required to submit to extensive review of their financial and governance practices prior to acceptance. This eligibility review has helped set standards for participation in giving initiatives that transcend the community.

v-dac

A free, convenient service for converting that extra car, truck, or RV into a tax deductible donation benefiting Landstuhl Hospital Care Project. Donate Now online or call 1-877-999-8322.

Best in America

Best in America The Independent Charities Seal of Excellence is awarded to the members of Independent Charities of America and Local Independent Charities of America that have, upon rigorous independent review, been able to ... more

Guidestar

GuideStar connects donors and grantmakers and is the world's largest source of information about nonprofit organizations. The Platinum seal is the highest rating a nonprofit can receive. Guidestar LHCP.

LRMC

The Landstuhl Regional Medical Center is an overseas military hospital operated by the United States Army and the Department of Defense. LRMC is the largest military hospital outside the continental United States.

Your contributions and fundraising tell our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines that they are supported.Thank you for making a difference in the lives of service members hospitalized outside the United States.